The most interesting argument that Darwin made in my opinion was when are stated that we see much more variability when it comes to domestication of animals (Darwin 488). I believe the point he is implying is that when man domesticates a species, the survival factor that is brought by natural selection is pretty much gone. Dogs have so many different breeds due the the fact that they are not influenced by natural selection, rather by humans. Darwin explains that humans select which breeds are created and successful both deliberately and unconsciously when they are either picked due to being bred for a specific purpose, or when certain breeds are kept around due to them being useful to the owner at that time. This shows the difference between domesticated animals who do not have the factor of natural selection determining their stature, and wild animals who are influenced by all the factors that come with natural selection, which single handedly determines what their species looks like at a specific time.
As I stated in the paragraph above, I believe that Darwin’s explanation of domesticated animals is the most convincing. This is due to the fact that it takes away Darwin’s, at the time only possible theory, from the equation. This then shows what happens when natural selection is not at play and why a large amount of breeds does not happen in the wild. I think the least convincing section of the reading was when Darwin was arguing against the belief that all species were created independently (Darwin 494). I tried to look into this section with a point of view similar to someone who does not believe in natural section determining evolution. And in doing so, I found this section to be insufficient of concrete evidence to Darwin’s argument. If I was living in his time and only heard this section of his argument, I would find no reason to believe in natural selection due to the fact that, at that time, you could just argue that these are just differences that are unique to that species. However, it was somewhat of a stretch to find a section of the reading that wasn’t convincing of Darwin’s argument in the given context of the rest of the reading.
I think it’s extremely important to realize the impact that humans have had on species that they have domesticated such as dogs and livestock. Just like the environment, evolution of domesticated species has shown how much of a role humans have on the natural processes of earth. Who knows where the cow or dog would be without human intervention? I agree with you to an extent in the second paragraph. I personally couldn’t find something that wasn’t convincing to me. Everything seemed to add up and make sense. Although I did not try and look at it through the lens of an Englishmen in the 1800s. Maybe I’ll have to do some more reflection with that perspective in mind.